


The Life of Cleanup Detail

by Metric_Mayhem



Category: Layton Brothers: Mystery Room, viscera cleanup detail
Genre: AU Fic, Dark humor?, Gen, Monsters, feels weird to have a m fic without the usual haha, rated M for guts and gore of others, suffocation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-02-27 18:53:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13254543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metric_Mayhem/pseuds/Metric_Mayhem
Summary: Lucy Baker, a 22 year old woman, had no direction in life. She always went from one thing to the next, trying to see what suited her best. Her job search landed her a place among a team of janitors—the pay was just too good to pass. But all things are not as it seems, for what was waiting for her could be the beginning of something new and terrifying.(Who's ready to see a combo of the obscure? Don't worry though, you don't need to know Viscera to fully enjoy the story.)





	1. Chapter 1

_September 20, 20XX aprox. 1:00PM_

  
A young woman who was previously down on her luck was job-hunting clear across most of London for a job that suited her. An undergrad with only an associate's degree to her name and a couple of dead-end jobs to show as experience? Not quite the list she could make for her resume, let alone a cover letter. Surely there was something waiting for her that didn't require an ostentatious background...

Lucy Baker, a girl in her early 20s with a aimless goal in life to just get by as best as she could. In hindsight, she supposed that wouldn't make a great description for resumes either...

As if some deity had heard her, she found an ad that called for janitorial services. Normally, she wouldn't try for cleaning (after all, it paid as less as the jobs she had before), but something about it caught her eye. The pay was..huge. The equivalent of a higher level office job with no experience requirements? There had to be something to it.

Perhaps for her to pay in or something suspicious of the sort. But sure enough, after talking over the phone with the management, there was nothing of the sort. Just clean, get paid, and go home.

"Usually summat like this is pretty sus', but I checked everything with the company and then some... A'right! I'll do it. What have I got to lose?"

A mistake, she soon found out.

It was sometime in the afternoon where she found the building of the company as well as the office she was assigned, where she can come back for supplies and a place for a break if necessary. There, she found who she supposed was the superior she was to introduce herself to.

He was in his uniform—rubber gloves, boots and jumper—combing through his lavender hair with his hand as he sat and stared at his computer screen.

She cleared her throat to get his attention. "Lucy Baker, reporting for duty!"

His eyes broke away from their gaze to direct it to her. "Ah, so you're the newbie I'll be working with. Alfendi Layton. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He removed one of his gloves and promptly took her hand for a light handshake. She remarked the swift motion he made to place back on the glove, quick and concise.

"My apologies for the office being a mess. Perhaps a bit ironic, but I've been far too busy cleaning out other places that this place has been low priority."

Lucy took the time to look around, noticing that aside the tools and supplies being where they need to be, litter from snacks, takeout boxes, and even newspapers have taken residence on the shelves as well as parts of the floor. The walls, while barren, seemed almost rusted over with some mild grime in the rooms corners. That added with the light of a lone lightbulb gave the room the exact feeling that a storage closet would have.

"Er... If I'm not gonna be judged on this um..." She paused, looking at him to nod for clarification before continuing. "Even if you did clean up, this room is still pretty dark and dingy looking."

For what was a split second, he grimaced before giving what she thought was a knowing, apologetic smile. "Well. I suppose you're right in that matter. I can't speak on behalf of the company, but I'd like to give a reminder that this isn't a glamorous job by any means."

"Oh, I know. The trash, the smell... All that's pretty gross. And I guess with them paying us this well, it'd be a little hard to toss in a bit more for renovations."

  
He merely cocked an eyebrow and frowned as he analyzed the sentence before he responded, "Yes, of course. Well, if it's quite alright with you, I suppose I shall go over a few things once we've reached our assigned location. A precautionary note, I would hope you know that this is all commissioned work. As in there's a difference with the locations we will be going to as well as the cases to deal with."

"Ah! Aye. I think I remember hearing the manager say summat like that over the phone. You're usually busy with loads of clients but you could have slow periods too."  
"That's correct. Now, the locker room is the door to the left. You'll find that your uniform is there along with our company's own gloves and boots. We'll be heading to the work site in about an hour from now."

"Sure thing!" She gave a grin along with an excited chuckle, much to the confusion of her boss.

"Hm? You seem particularly chipper."

"Well, I just got to thinking... If you're showing me the ropes an' all, that makes you my prof!"

He blinked, only seeming more flummoxed. "...Prof?"

"My teacher. My _professah_." She pointed a finger to him.

"Ah...?"

Alfendi glanced about the room before finding his composure. "I'm not too sure about how my father, an actual college professor, would feel about you calling me that."

" _Laugh. More than likely,"_ he mumbled under his breath as he rubbed his neck.

"Anyways, I'll be back in a bit!"

She waved him as she quickly made her way to the other room, leaving him to his thoughts.

 _"She is by far the strangest one we've received yet,"_ he thought to himself. _"Admittedly, a breath of fresh air from the terrified faces I often see."_

It made it all the harder to explain to her just what kind of hell she signed up for.


	2. Chapter 2

_September 20, 20XX_ _2:10PM_

After she finished changing, Alfendi was sure to go over a few important details with the tools they used―although unsurprisingly, Lucy seemed rather bored of the aspect.

“Prof, I know how to use a mop and bucket. It’s not rocket science.”

Alfendi scratched his head as he sighed. “Yes, I realize that explaining that seems far too rudimentary, but humor me. There’s a few more matters to it that you’ll find fairly helpful ...And, please stop referring to me as ‘prof’.”

Lucy hummed. “I dunno why, but it just feels right to call you that. ‘Mr. Layton’ seems too formal... Well, what else have you got for me? Cleansers? Toothbrushes for those hard to reach places?”

“I’ll explain on the way there since it’s easiest. We’ll be arriving at our desitnation early since it’ll take some time for you to adjust to your job.”

“Really? Now, I just think you’re just being silly. I mean, all of this just to tidy up a place? Sheesh.”

She shrugged as she walked out.

Alfendi’s previous suspicions were on the mark. Worries filled his mind, and he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that didn’t go away despite him calming himself. He supposed there was no proper way of explaining what their duties were without witnessing firsthand. He just hoped it wouldn’t be like the last time.

_4:15PM_

After loading up the company van, they were off, going through non-frequented grounds until they reached what seemed to be a fenced off area in a remote town, hours from London. He went over some of the tech their company had developed that they would use, like the sniffer (otherwise known as the _Muckgyver_ ). She seemed amazed that a small device could be used to detect waste and momentarily wondered why it wasn’t popular or even marketed to the public.

Alfendi smiled as he handed her the device along with a mop and broom. “There wasn’t much use for it aside cleaning indoors. Knowing the expense of purchasing something like this, it would be far more reasonable to rely on one’s own sight and smell. Both of those do come free for most, after all.”

“I wonder why we really need these, then...”

“Well, you’ll see.”

As they walked towards the fence, they noticed a guard that was standing and surveying the area before he recognized the uniforms the two wore. It looked as if he was somewhat relieved to see them, greeting them with a hearty handshake.

“Oh thank god, you’re finally here.”

Alfendi spoke for them. “Yes, we left early to reach as soon as possible, what with the usual London traffic. Should we have scheduled for sooner?”

“Naw, now’s perfect. We just got finished sealing the lab, so it’s all yours to take care of. Good luck.”

The guard waved them off as they passed by and Lucy chuckled to herself.

“That must have been some bad Balti, eh?” she nudged Alfendi. “Sure not looking forward to cleaning that up...”

He stayed eerily silent, even offering a small sigh before the reached the door of the facility. He was prepared for the worst, for both her reaction and what lied beyond the doors.

From what they understood, they were heading toward a particular lab that handled botany. Scientists were looking for ways to make new plants that would be self-sufficient, even able to water themselves and migrate to different soils if necessary.

“Woah... Just think, this’ll be amazing for those that don’t do well with pets _and_ the forgetful sorts!” She turned to see Alfendi staring ahead, still silent as they reached to the furthest door down the narrow, white hall.

“What’s eating you, prof?”

“Stay close to me, Lucy,” he finally said. “And stay calm.”

He proceeded to pull out a keycard he was given ahead of time, and swiped it on the card reader beside the locked sliding doors.

“Stay calm? Why? It’s not like we’re going to a―”

The doors unlocked and slid open to a ghastly scene that was etched into her mind for the rest of that day. Sickening pools of red trailed the floors and splatters decorated the walls. All around the lab were mutliple bodies, many that been split into halves and pieces. Most of them were barely even decernible, their individualities lost to the unnamed destruction that had befallen them.

A frightful scream could be heard from all parts of the building that day.

_4:25PM_

Lucy had fallen flat on her backside out of shock. The stinking smell of blood and decay was enough to rile her stomach. She swallowed back the taste of her lunch in an attempt to breathe.

Alfendi kneeled down to her level and placed a hand on her shoulder. His prior experience in responding to others fear was rusty, given he had been working alone for some time. But this was the time to make do with what he knew.

“Lucy, I know this looks horrible,” he calmly stated. “But you must remain calm.”

“How!? There’s dead bodies everywhere! On top of that, there’s bulletholes and green goop around!”

“Perhaps from whoever was here earlier. If there would ever be consolation from this havoc, it seems the threat may have already been neutralized.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that about nine people died! One guy looks like mystery meat, the other’s week old spaghetti, and I’m pretty sure that one’s lost way more than his head!”

“ _Well, she’s certainly interesting,_ ” he heard from the back of his mind.

He shooed away the thought for fear of the headache that would come with it.

“...Be that as it may, allow me to introduce you to your actual duties. Welcome to what we call ‘Viscera Clean Detail’.”

It took a few minutes and a bit of coffee, but Lucy calmed down considerably. Before that, guards had come, assuming the worst when they saw a distressed Lucy, but were then told of the situation and asked to be given space.

“Bugger... What the heck is all of this anyway?” she asked, head in her hands.

“I suppose you can think of it as something similar to crime scene cleanups. Only... we don’t just handle just those known to the police. It extends to various occurances.”

“Like...?”

“Well... Let’s see...” he folded his arms. “Events such as, but not limited to: homicide, suicide, biohazardous substances, dangerous fauna and/or flora, military, extraterrestrial lifeforms, supernatural and ritualistic happenstance―”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, hold it,” Lucy held up her hands. “You’re telling me you deal with aliens and ghosts? That’s rubbish! There’s no such thing! And if there is... well, I have a whole lot of apologizing to make to my cousin, Harry.”

“Hmm, well. I suppose you’ve got a point. If, that is to say, they never report aliens and such in the first place. After all, evidences of them do not exist, correct?”

“Yeah! I―Oh. That’s what you’re getting at. You’re saying your cleaning services are exactly why they don’t exist, right?”

A smile finally showed on his features. “Well, not to toot the company’s horn, but we pride ourselves on our services. We’re quite thorough and we get the job done right.”

“Don’t mind me, but... I don’t buy what you’re trying to peddle me. Frankly, it sounds like a lot of hogwash,” she stood up from the chair she sat on.

“I’m merely answering you what info I’m told as well as personal experience. You’re free to think of it as you may. Now then, rather or not you wish to see if it holds water is completely up to you as well. That is, if you still wish to work with us.”

“Eh? You mean... after that, you still wanna work with me?”

“Of course! All things considered, you’ve done far better than others placed in the same position than you. Others have fainted, vomited, yelled expletives... Erm, and other unpleasentries.”

“Aye, I bet. Even now my stomach’s still bothering me. But it’s much better than before.”

“Well, would you like to wait outside while I take care of the difficult part?”

“I’d feel just as awful making you do most of the grunt work... So, um, I’m ready to clean up if you are.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, after mustering her courage. “Sure, I’m sure. My mum didn’t raise a quitter! Just, uh, know that those bodies are still gonna give me the heebie-jeebies. I’d um, rather take the ones that have all their parts still together.”

“It’s your first time dealing with something so... grizzly. Take your time. We’ll need to seperate the bodies into seperate catagories, anyway. Some...won’t have the pleasure of an open casket funeral and may have to be incinerated.”

“That’s... awful.”

“Depending on the others and if they’re also infected, they may as well. But, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Shall we?”

“Mmhm! Let’s scoot!”


	3. Chapter 3

_4:40PM_

“What the heck happened...? I mean, to all of these people,” Lucy thought aloud as she placed the third body in a bodybag.

“You wish to know?” Alfendi looked up from the strange device he held.

“Of course! Wouldn’t anyone?”

He flipped the pad he held over to her and pointed at it’s screen. “I extracted information I found lying around the site. Those self-reliant plants they were developing seemed to have spouted a violent side towards other living beings.”

“Ehh!? The plant buddies? I wonder why...”

“Unfortunately, there’s almost always a casualty that comes with science. Advancing a plant species is nothing to sneeze at, after all,” Alfendi paused for a moment. “According to the reports of a few guards, there have been quite a few different attacks from each developed type. Injuries included bites, suffocation attempts, and scratches. The missing person reports didn’t quite come until just this week though.”

She frowned. “And they’re _still_ trying to go through with this? Even _after_ people died?”

He went back to typing on the pad. “Unfortunately, there are some companies blinded by their goals to care about the damage it took to get there...”

“Can’t we report this to someone?”

He hummed. “That’s not our jurisdiction. We were paid to clean up as well as keep silent of the company’s doings. There’s a chance that people that have worked here had signed a waiver outlining the dangers and they took it.”

“That’s still not―!”

“Fair? No, it’s not.”

She tightened her fists. “Doesn’t this all bother you? It’s rubbish!”

“It most certainly is, without a doubt. However, we’re under contract not to get involved in the companies problems. Unless they DO somehow involve us, our hands are tied.”

With one final “humph”, she stormed off in another direction out of his view. It pained him to give such an answer, but ultimately, there wasn’t much he could do. He took a deep breath before coughing at the gut-wrenching smell. It was clear that their work was not nearly complete. There were still bodies that lied in crumbled heaps, and there was still the matter of removing some of the blood off the once-prestine walls as well.

He supposed it was time to roll up the sleeves and get to work...

_4:45PM_

Why was it that Alfendi was so unbelievably...frustrating? She understood that their job didn’t involve placing a company’s ethics under scrutiny, but turning a blind eye to it entirely?

A crunching sound stopped her pacing and she looked down to see there was an empty can of soda stuck to the heel of her boot. Out of frustration, she managed to detatch it and kick it into an neighboring corridor. Its hollowed noise echoed the hall to where she nearly jumped at the sound.

“Oop, better get that... I’m supposed to be a janitor and here I am, ignoring the mess.”

The woman trotted up to the the piece of litter and leaned down to pick it up. Suddenly, she eyed a small vine that slithered up and grabbed her hand.

“W-What gives? Let go!”

Each tug seemed to allow it to creep further until it took her entire arm. Lucy pulled at the vine with her other hand only to recieve a sharp pain in return. She pulled back her hand to see that the thorns had torn through the industrial glove. It was absurdly tough! Could this be one of the plants the scientists were developing?

The pain seemed to return, the thorns sinking into her captured arm.

“Yowch! Wahhh!”

The vine made a snarling sound before more of it appeared. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the vines came from one concentrated place: a small hole in the wall that seemed to grow larger as more of the plant seeped out.

Air was squeezed out of her as it constricted around her entire body. Her eyes widened in response. This was it. She was going to be yet another body count.

With whatever oxygen was left in her lungs, she cried out, “PROF! HEEEELLP!”

Alfendi stopped dead in his tracks. “Lucy?”

He looked around to see that she was nowhere in sight.

Panic began to set in. “Lucy!?”

The head that he was about to dispose of had fell to the floor with a bloody splat and he nearly frowned at the mess it made.

“This will have to wait.”

The purple haired man took off in search of her, checking every nook and cranny before finding the very corridor she passed. Near the end of the hall, he found her nearly passed out, dangling in the clutches of an animated rose-like monster. Whatever it was previously, it had obtained mutations similar to that of venus flytrap.

“Lucy!”

Her eyes had trouble staying open as she looked to him haggardly. She did her best to reach out to him, slightly tugging her hand and failing.

His blood boiled as he noted her once flush face had turned pale. Rationality seemed to had left him along with his thoughts. He wasn’t going to lose someone he had just met. He wasn’t going to lose someone to tragedy. Not again.

The lab filled with another yell, him not realizing it was his own.

_4:49PM_

His body seemed to have controlled itself, taking off like a rocket toward the monster at such a speed he forgot he had. A hand fumbled in his jumper’s pockets for something that lied dormant for quite sometime: a pocketknife.

Hair now messy and burned crimson, he flipped open the knife. “Time for a trim!”

The creature screeched as he cut through each vine with a frightening pace. After freeing her torso, he set to work on her arms and legs, pulling and violently snapping open the plant with the sharpened edge of the knife. Lucy fell limply, but not without him catching her and placing her against a nearby wall.

Instinctively, he brought his fingertips to her neck, checking for a pulse. While it was weakened to begin with, he breathed a small sigh of relief. Short breaths left her lips and gradually became longer and larger. As long as her head was properly elevated and she was breathing, her heartrate would return to normal in due time.

A small flash of green appeared and he stabbed his knife in its direction, planting it into the wall just beside the unconsious woman.

“Shame they didn’t give you living fertilizers some brains to go with your setinence,” he turned his eyes to see the plant desperately try to pull away its caught vine as it whimpered.

Alfendi clicked his teeth in annoyance and pulled out the embedded blade from the wall.

“Oh, you’re hurt? You poor, poor thing,” he raised it up and pointed it in the monster’s direction, causing it to lurch back.

“If I catch even one more tendril on this woman, you’re food for your friends. You hear me?”

It seemed to have understood him and retreated back into the hole in the corner it came from, with cut vines and damaged stems.

Giving a satisfied hum, he flipped the pocketknife closed and placed it back in his pocket. He eyed the fallen woman to notice the orange cap she normally wore was currently on the floor, almost forgotten. He reached for it and gingerly dusted it off before returning it back on her head.

“Come on, we’re leaving.”

One swift motion and she was in his arms with relative ease. The laboratory doors slide open to show several men with guns approached the door. He growled with impatience.

“You sure took your sweet time getting here. Move. Now!”

They split into both sides of the doorway, allowing him to walk through. Any concerned employee was promptly shoved aside as he guided her out the building. Once they reached the company van and she was placed in the passenger seat, her eyes slowly opened.

“Prof...?”

His eyes widened slightly and he almost struggled with his words. “Lucy?”

“Wha... about cleaning? We’re not...finished.”

“Forget that. Worry about your own damn hide first. You can barely move.”

She lifted a hand and saw specks of blood that seeped through holes in her glove. Wincing, she slowly sat up in her seat. Something seemed odd about Alfendi to her. His curt attitude, the red, messy mane... Was this even the same man?

He caught her stare and glanced away. “What?”

“I eh... Sorry for worrying ya, Prof.”

Alfendi offered a shrug. “I’m the one that should be apologizing. I should have kept a better eye on you and... _he_ didn’t make this any easier.”

She looked at him worriedly before he pulled the rim of her cap over her eyes.

“Hey, knock it off. Your dedication is something else, I’ll give you that. But now that you’re injured, we’ve got to report back. Immediately. It’s protocol.”

“Huh...Is this where the ‘problems involving us’ part comes in? When bad stuff goes on with the clients?”

He stayed silent as he started the engine to the van and drove out, almost flying down the road like a bat of hell. His passenger had trouble staying calm, what with the high speeds they traveled. At the very least, he traveled by empty roads in descrete locations, presumably to cut time and the amount of people that would see them.

Arriving back to their work building, Alfendi almost dragged her out of the car and through the doors.

“Hey! Easy! I’m still a little woozy!”

He growled, but gave her his shoulder to lean on before continuing their way to the floor of their office. Walking in, he then led her to the entrance to the locker room.

“Take a shower,” he said curtly.

“Ehh!? Now? B-But I just got here!”

“Yes, now. Or perhaps you’d rather I help you?” His sharp eyes bore into hers, a tactic she quickly learned was not one the previous Alfendi would use.

She gently pushed him back with what strength she had. “As if! Fine, I’ll go.”

“And make sure you clean off any cuts or wounds,” he called out before he turned to leave.

If he could be truthful, Alfendi was mad. It was the first in so long that he emerged from what felt like the murky depths of his mind to find out that he had a new partner that was already placed in harm’s way. He wanted to blame his counterpart, his other personality that had recently resided in his own body. But as he searched through the notes he took, he slowly realized that it wasn’t him he should direct his anger toward.

Hell, he was more observant than he gave him credit for, aside Lucy (though he supposed that was understandable, given how she was).

That laboratory, the Athena Station, was one of many locations under Botanacula Enterprises. As he went over what was found, he realized that there was an extensive history of negligence on their part. Guards were injured, sometimes missng. Anonymous notes of cover-ups the company made were found. There was one more thing he needed to check for. And unfortunately, he was not at a high enough position in his job to do so.

It was time to pay a sickly woman a visit.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, yeah. I know. Another AU and all that. But hey, literally NO ONE has done anything with this theme in the series, so let's see what I can do!


End file.
